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DigiTimes yesterday reported that several vendors have plans to bring Google's Chrome OS to some of their devices as early as this holiday season. Sources say that Google will have its own branded Chrome notebook by the end of this month, with HP and Acer following in December. It's apparently an attempt by the device makers to test the waters. Chrome OS is Google's way to make a device that's more web centric, with little to no on-board applications, and all your data residing in the cloud.

It's worth noting that Google is now playing in this field with two different operating systems: Android and Chrome OS. With Android being an obvious success in the smartphone market, and coming out on many tablets these days, I for one am skeptical as to the marketshare a device based on Chrome OS can gather.

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Ever since the Google Chrome OSwas announced, many have been wondering which partners would be working with Google to release new devices based on the ambitious operating system. As it turns out, Google is answering those questions, releasing a short list of partners that they’re working with.

Acer has announced that they are offering their blue or pink 8.9-inch Netbook with built-in AT&T Mobility Broadband for only $79.00 with a new 2-year commitment with plans at $60.00 a month or more. The netbook, which can be found at RadioShack, has a CrystalBrite LED backlit LCD screen with 1024x600 resolution, 1GB memory, 160GB hard drive, Intel Atom processor, WiFi, WiMAX and 3G wireless access, 3 USB ports and Windows XP.

Acer has 2 new TravelMate notebooks geared for the corporate and small business user. The 6493 features a 14.1-inch display with 1280x800 resolution, an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8400, 3GB DDR3, WiFi, DVD burner, Vista Business and a price that starts at $1099.00. The 6593 has a standard 15.4-inch screen with 1280x800 resolution, an Intel Centrino 2 CPU with vPro, 4GB DDR3, 250GB HDD, WiFi, a DVD burner and Vista Business. It carries a MSRP of $1499.00.

So where has Gateway been lately? Probably working on its own netbook, although since Acer is now its parent company, reports say that it is simply a cousin to Acer’s Aspire. The LT1001j holds 1GB RAM, has a 8.9-inch display with WSVGA (1,024x600) resolution, a 0.3M webcam, and USB 2.0 and SD card slots. Weighing only 1.06kg, it is powered by an Intel Atom N270 processor and Windows XP OS. Due out in Japan this month, the claim is that because of the similarities, this one won’t hit the States.

Acer is taking their laptops and entertainment to a whole ‘nother level with their new Gemstone Blue line. The computers are meant for those who don’t travel much but still want the latest in high tech on a laptop. On sale next month, the Aspire 8920G will have 6 speakers and an 18.4-inch HD display with a 16:9 screen and 1920 x 1080 resolution. It also has a built-in Blu-ray drive and a price of $1,999.00. The Aspire 6920G comes with three speakers and a 16-inch screen and will carry a $1,699.00 price.

Wal-Mart has decided to sell the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player at a discounted price of $98.87 to get the holiday shopping season started early. So much for the second gen Panasonic’s Bluray DMP. Slated for today only, if you are reading this, you are probably too late unless you are on the west coast and the time is before noon. They are also offering Acer laptops for $348.00 and Sanyo 50-inch Plasma HDTVs for $998.00.
We poked around to find what was going on at the other stores, where the player is still being offered for $299.99. We did find a GPX Player at a sale price of $25.00 at Kmart. We know someone who bought one of these and although it is slow, it works. Now that’s a bargain.

Acer will be taking over Gateway in a $710 million deal. This move will make that company our planet’s third largest producer of PCs (hp and Dell being the first two.) Because Acer is mostly sold in the European and Asian markets and Gateway is predominate in the U.S., they are hoping that the merger will be able to ship in excess of 20 million units a year. The takeover should be completed by this December. Let us have a few moments of silence then for the little company-that-could and its humble cow splotches that became greedy, greedy, greedy.